Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-07-26
INTERSTATE COMMERCE..
Four Important Decisions by the
Comm isSiOners.

WASHINGTON, July 25.-The Inter-
State Commerce Commission deliv-
cred an opinion to-day in four cases
recently brought before it. The cases
entitled Louis Larrison against the
Grand Trunk Railroad Company and
the Michigan Central Railroad Com
pany against the Grand Trunk rail.
road were heard together. The
charges are of unjust discrimination.
Larrison complains that the road
would not sell him thousand-mile
ticket at the prices paid by comm ercial
travellers, and the Michigan Central
complains that the Grand Trunk com
pany Was selling to commercial trav-
elers at lower rates than to tn public
generally. The defendants admit the
fact as charged, but aver that nothing
alleged is in conflict with the law.
. The opinion of the Court concluded
as follows: Common carriers may
continue the issuance of mileage pas
senger tickets, the charges for which
must be reasonable and just, and free
from unjust discrimination or .unreas-
enable preference. People belonging
to the class known as commercial
travellers are not privileged to ride
over railroads at lower rates than are
paid by other persons, and whatever
rates commercial travellers are made
to pay, that other travellers should be
asked to pay more than them is unjust
discrimination ;and this is true whether
the tickets issued are mileage tickets
or in some other form. The refusal OF
the defendant, the Chicago and Grand
Trunk Railway, to sell complainant,
Larrison, thousand mile ticket for
$40, the price at which said company
was selling such tickets to commercial
travellers, and the neglect to publish
the rates at which defendant was offer
ing to sell mileage tickets, were alike
in conflict with the act to regulate
commerce. The opinion was by Com
missioner Morrison, all concurring.
DRUMMERs' APPEAL.
The case of the st. Louis wholes ale
grocers against the Missouri Pacific
embodies a complaint that while COM
mutation tickets are sold at rates
which would not amount to more than
SIS for 1000-mile tickets, tickets to
commercial travellers are not sold for
less than $25. The Commission is
also asked to order and direct that dis
elimination be made in favor of COM
mercial travellers. The Commission
does not regard the fact that commu-
tation tickets are put on sale at
a given rate, to be one that
entities the purchasers of mileage
tickets to complain OF unjust discrim-
ination. If it charges higher rate,
the circumstances and conditions, the
opinion says, are not the same, and
the Commission finds nothing in the
testimony submitted going to show
that the charge of $25 for thousand
mile ticket is unreasonable. In re-
spect to the order it is requested to
make in favor of commercial travellers,
the opinion says that the entire policy
and spirit of the law is against it,
and when mileage tickets, as distin-
guished from trip tickets, are is
sued, they should be sold to all impair
TALLY and on the same terms. The
opinion was by Commissioner Walk
er, all concurring.
OTHER CASES.
. The case of Ralph W. Thatcher Of
Schenectady, N. Y, against the Fitch
burg railroad and others for excessive
rates on grain to Boston is dismissed
for want Of equity.
In the case OF the Burton Stock Car
Company, the decision is to the effect
that there is no apparent ground on
which railroads can be ordered to pay
mileage to Burton in respect to the
alleged unreasonableness Of the charge
to shippers Of stock by Burton cars
heing in excess of that to shippers by
ordinary cars. The commission says
that the case is not satisfactorily pre-
sented.